The production of fibre reinforced thermosetting plastic products can be automatized by the use of an industrial robot, by means of which a fibre feed apparatus can be controlled, so that precise amounts of fibres are fed out which are oriented for maximum strength, without the fibres projecting out through the outer plastic layer of the product.
Owing to the repeatability of the robot, the quality of these products can be increased considerably, simultaneously as problems related to bad work environment and labour fatigue can be solved.
The fibre feeding apparatus is preferably located in a feedout head which can be mounted upon a movable robot arm. One or more fibre threads are supplied to the feedout head, which cuts the threads in suitable lengths. The feeding speed of the fibre thread can be in the range of about 10 meters per second.
At such a feeding speed, it is difficult to stop the feeding of thread without any risk of getting they thread tangled.